I was reading about this on some backcountry cooking site (I forget which) and it sounded like a great idea: very light weight; quick to rehydrate; a nice source of vegetables and fiber; and a good addition to the usual one-pot dinners that tend to make up my usual backpacking dinners. The site I was at insists that cole slaw rehydrates really well. However, I've read elsewhere that low-acid vegetables generally need to be blanched before dehydrating to kill off any bacteria that may spoil them, so I'm not so sure about that part.

Anyone ever try this? I'm planning to buy a bag of Costco prepared cole slaw next time I'm there and dehydrate the whole thing.

Another idea is to use Sarah Kirkconnell's recipe for Crunchy Slaw. Buy the dehydrated cabbage and vegetable soup mix from HarmonyHouseFoods.com. That's what the HHF stands for in the recipe below. I get all my dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and beans from them. Much better than trying to mess with drying myself. I get the packets of vinegar and olive oil from minimus.biz. That's another great site for little packets of just about anything. You can leave out the ramen if you prefer. I find this recipe very refreshing and tasty.

However, I've read elsewhere that low-acid vegetables generally need to be blanched before dehydrating to kill off any bacteria that may spoil them, so I'm not so sure about that part.

I have been blanching/steaming my coleslaw for a few minutes first because it helps with rehydrating if I want more of a noodle feel but it works just fine to not for firmer coleslaw. Not sure about the bacteria part but I've been doing it for 5 years and haven't had a problem.

--------------You don't find yourself standing at the top of a mountain without having started out in the valley.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou cannot attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum